Chapter 454: 454 Chapter: Bold Ideas...Gone_1
"Lamia means she wants to buy information from you in the future," Abigail calmly reminded on the side.
Upon hearing this, Aiden looked up at Lamia, who, supported by her serpentine tail, towered over his seated form by half a body length.
"Hehe, seeing Qiqimora getting quite a lot of benefits from you, I can’t help but feel a bit jealous," Lamia said with a smile, leaning in close through the gray mist to look down at Aiden’s face, "How about we get on better terms, what do you say?"
"Oh..." Aiden responded expressionlessly.
Being close to a woman with a hot figure and no clothes on is something many would desire, easily inspiring some bold ideas—provided that said woman’s hot features weren’t limited to her upper body and that her lower body wasn’t a snake tail capable of strangling a water buffalo.
Aiden closely observed the sharp fangs in her mouth and the soft, forked tongue, wondering how many brave souls in the world could entertain bold ideas about such a woman.
"Hehe, taking a closer look, you really are quite a fine man," Lamia straightened her body and added, "You whet my appetite indeed, makes me want to eat you up."
"Which way do you mean?" Aiden asked casually.
"Both meanings," Lamia grinned.
"I hope you’re not considering the eating kind... and if possible, don’t consider the other kind either," Aiden said earnestly.
"Ha, I got rejected, didn’t I?" Lamia laughed loudly as she returned to her place, "Anyway, remember to include me when there are benefits to be had, I also have many benefits to offer."
"Seems like my stock has risen in your eyes," Aiden suddenly got a sense of Lamia’s purpose for attending the meeting.
Qiqimora had mentioned that the speed at which Aiden was acquiring power was extraordinary. In just a few years, which to them seemed brief, he had surpassed their decades of effort.
In his dealings with Qiqimora, he first received the unique Authority, then gained access to the Scales of Smiling’s information network. To these Great Witches, all this was proof of his increasing worth. Qiqimora, having gained divinity and information on the location of the unique Authority in their deals, also confirmed his reliability as a business partner with her customer testimonial.
Clearly, having watched from the sidelines, Lamia was now tempted and thus joined the intelligence exchange, opportunistically connecting with him.
As for Vila and Habanis, who harbored negative feelings towards him, it would probably not be so easy for them to lower their guard.
Lamia’s initiative to approach was also a good thing for Aiden. The fabled Magic Potion Queen became his business partner, and as she said, she could offer many benefits in her areas of expertise.
However, when trading, he still had to remain somewhat vigilant. Unlike the relatively gentle Qiqimora, Great Witch Lamia’s dangerous reputation was well-known.
"Your relationship with the assembly members is becoming increasingly intimate; I don’t know if I should be pleased about that or not. But to get back on point..." Abigail brought the conversation back with an indifferent tone, "Simply put, Lamia intends to involve herself in this affair."
"After all, it’s the Authority I like," Lamia said with a flick of her tongue.
"However, to be frank, the only way to describe your objectives... is that each of you has your own cunning plan," Abigail added.
Aiden exchanged glances with Lamia and Qiqimora.
Qiqimora was the first to speak, "Of course I want to obtain the Hand of Annihilation."
Then came Lamia, "I only want the research materials in the hands of the Gistastonians, whether ’Chaos’ or ’Balance’, either is fine."
"If you promise not to use that stuff for anything worse than what the Gistas military is doing, I might actually support you," Aiden said, "But my main goal is to stop Mr. Bloodcoat from getting the Hand of Annihilation."
"Damn, it seems we really can’t get on the same page," Lamia said in a hoarse voice.
Professor Dodge pursued the Kingdom of Gistas’ "Infection" plan, while Mr. Bloodcoat was searching everywhere for Professor Dodge; the three were like a food chain concentrated on the grand stage of Sunset City.
The main goals of Aiden and Qiqimora, along with Lamia, though, were spread across these three entities, and strictly speaking, they were not on the same side at all.
Qiqimora wanted to take away the Hand of Annihilation, but Aiden did not actually care whether she got it, as long as Mr. Bloodcoat did not.
As for Lamia, she wanted to collect the power of "Chaos." Qiqimora and Aiden did not care about this, although Aiden personally would rather see the Gistas’ inhumane experiment destroyed.
Regarding Mr. Bloodcoat, whom Aiden was watching, the two Great Witches naturally could not care less, with Qiqimora at most being wary of this "competitor."
"Let’s not think too far ahead about things that are far from settled; at least we can agree to exchange information and ensure that we won’t interfere with each other," Aiden suggested, raising his hand to propose a minimum level of cooperation.
"Agreed," Lamia and Qiqimora said in unison.
"Now that we have discussed the Gistastonians’ project, shall we talk about what concerns me?" Qiqimora directed the conversation to her area of interest, "What is his purpose for focusing on this project? Against the Empire, he did not hold back at all, but with Gistas, he has at least tolerated for two years."
"It’s probably because he couldn’t manage it, after all, you couldn’t enter the core area of that base either," Lamia said.
"One point worth noting..." Aiden raised a finger, "Did his son really die?"
Professor Dodge’s intelligence was indeed critical; in the whole "food chain," he was related to both the "Infection" plan and Mr. Bloodcoat.
"I’m afraid not," Lamia concluded directly, "otherwise, what reason would he have to consult with Black Goat about separating the demonic offspring?"
"That’s what I think too," Aiden agreed, "But what exactly has his son become?"
If Professor Dodge’s son had already died by then, even if Professor Dodge found a way to separate the demonic offspring, it would be of no help. It is very possible that Professor Dodge’s son actually survived the experiment, only the results were too much for Professor Dodge to accept.
"Who knows, there are twenty-six kinds of demons recorded publicly, and we’ve encountered even more in our secret research. Who knows which kind, or kinds, of demon his son fused with?" Lamia said.
"But one thing is certain, he is definitely not satisfied with the outcome from the Empire," Abigail suddenly reminded.
Hearing this, Aiden pondered for a moment and suddenly realized one of the answers: "Ah, so that’s why he hasn’t made a move against the Gistas project!"
